Bruce Springsteen is set to release a graphic novel.
The book is based on the lyrics to his 2009 song ‘Outlaw Pete’, which featured on his ‘Working on a Dream’ album and was itself inspired by the 1950 children’s book ‘Brave Cowboy Bill’. ‘Outlaw Pete’ will be released on November 4 and features words by Springsteen and illustrations by Frank Caruso. A press release for the book says it is “based on the celebrated song about a bank-robbing baby whose exploits become a meditation on sin, fate, and free will.” Springsteen himself has commented: “‘Outlaw Pete’ is essentially the story of a man trying to outlive and outrun his sins.”
Caruso has said of the project, which will be published by Simon & Schuster: “When Bruce wrote ‘Outlaw Pete’ he didn’t just write a great song, he created a great character. The first time I heard the song this book played out in my head. Like Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Dorothy Gale and for me, even Popeye, Outlaw Pete cuts deep into the folklore of our country and weaves its way into the fabric of great American literary characters.”
Springsteen’s last album was ‘High Hopes’. It was his 18th LP and was released in January of this year. It comprised of a mixture of out-takes, covers and reworked old songs taken from his extensive back catalogue and went on to become his tenth UK Number One album.